Cherry Ice
by SequinCannibal
Summary: First story! Alright, so basically, Jamie begins to grow up and the Guardians choose to move on. Jamie, unlike the rest of his friends, never stopped believing and wants nothing more to see them again. Will one sneaky encounter possibly bring his wish to life? (Future Jack/Jamie M/M slash fiction, so... heads up.)
1. Never Grow Up

**Is this more RotG fanfiction that you've stumbled upon? Why yes, yes it is! I've chosen to write this because of another fanfiction author from within the fandom who has sparked a huge change in my outlook on life. I had no clue that something like fanfiction (hers was slash fiction, no less) could have such an intense effect on anybody. I hope that I'm not the only one that moved by this stuff... In any respect, my goal is to make someone smile. This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction so go easy on me, alright? **

**Disclaimer: You guys know I don't own any of this shit, right? This seems really unnecessary. Well, here goes nothing... I do not own Rise of the Guardians, any of the characters (aside from a few background characters), Scholastic, or any of the name brand products mentioned.**

* * *

CHAPTER 1: NEVER GROW UP

I can still vividly remember the day that Jack Frost left Burgess for good. It's probably easy to think that I'm a lucky one. Everyone else has since brushed off our encounter with the Guardians as a product of our childhood imaginations. After all, we have had many pretend adventures together.

I distinctly remember Pippa as the captain of the S.S. Barnacle, our pirate ship. Naturally our grand pirate ship was nothing more than her father's canoe that usually only sat in her garage due to a large crack in the bottom caused by one too many rocks colliding with the bottom in shallow waters, but our wild imaginations managed to fill in the holes. Even to this day, I sometimes remember it being made out of wood like our pirate ship, though in reality it was crafted from a less ornate metal.

And so I could forgive them. For a while, I was furious when they told me that they were too old to believe in that sort of thing. I remember how happy Jack was when someone finally believed in him, and watching my friends take that away from him hurt. About a week after my friends stopped believing, he told me that it was time for him to move on. I asked if he would visit from time to time, but he told me that was a Guardian of children, and that I was growing up. And just like that, he left.

And in that moment, I promised that I would never grow up. I was forced to mature in many ways as time passed though. Eventually, my mom stopped waking me up for school, made my lunch less, and gave me more responsibilities. I learned to cope, but I promised myself that I would never stop believing.

And I didn't.

It was hard at times. I quickly caught on that the Guardians were avoiding me. On many occasions, I would hear little Sophie giggling somewhere in the house. When I would go to see what was so funny, I would hear a faint shuffling and she would stop. Though the Guardians brought us closer as brother and sister, I almost resented her for the fact that she could still see Jack and I couldn't. But such is life, isn't it?

And so day by day, I marched on with those warm memories tucked away in my mind. By the time I was sixteen, I had managed to channel my grief into art. I even managed to to win a silver key in the Scholastic Art Fair for an oil painting of Toothiana, receiving many compliments for my use of color. The one that I missed the most was my dear friend Jack Frost. All of my notebooks had his likeness scribbled on many of the pages. I once wrote an algebra equation sideways so that it wouldn't cut through a picture of him that I had drawn along the right side of the page.

It was a lonely existence, but that Sandman was kind to me. Every now and then, he would let me see them in my dreams so that I wouldn't forget what they looked like. Though a strange depression sometimes forced me out to that small lake to beg the moon to let me see them again, Sandy always seemed to throw me a happy dream about them every time the loneliness became too much.

In the summer after my junior year of high school, I finally managed to escape the crushing grief. I cried less at night and began to visit the lake less. The destructive sadness gave way to simple emptiness. As much as I wanted to move on, I knew that I never would. The truth is that I loved them, and what is more important than love?

* * *

"Late again, young Jamie?" scolded Miss Felton, the art teacher. "You're one of my most ambitious students, but this is your third time late this week and it's only Wednesday."

"Sorry," I apologized meekly, knowing full well what was coming next. I had real excuse for being late. I went to buy a bottle of tea from the vending machine and took my sweet time drinking it in the hallway.

"I need you stay in my room after school tomorrow, alright?" She said with a slight shrug before continuing her lesson about charcoal drawing.

We were assigned a to create a monochromatic picture using white, grey, and black charcoals on black paper. Again, I drew Jack. When she asked why all of my drawing look like the same person, I just told her that it was a coincidence. I'm almost positive that she doesn't believe me. She once suggested that I try new hairstyles and such, but when I ignored that piece of advice, she never asked questions about it.

Chemistry was hard for me, but Pippa excelled and serve as a great tutor. My day passed quickly enough. The class period were awkwardly shortened to make room for a senior assembly where we signed up for our cap and gown. To me, graduation was just an official seal saying that you could never claim to be a kid ever again, but dropping out of school would serve no purpose at this point.

Before I knew it, the school day was over. As the leaves changed colors, it seemed to rain more and more. Today, rain was waiting outside to greet me. Having forgotten my jacket at home, my shirt was already clinging to my shoulder by the time I made it to the parking lot. As I swiped off the leaves that had piled up on my windshield, I heard a familiar screaming in the distance.

"Jamie, wait!" came Pippa, running across the parking lot in a raspberry pea coat, her black boots soaking each other as they splashed in the many puddles of the high school parking lot. "My mom's car has a flat tire. Is there any chance that I can catch a ride home with you?"

"Sure." As a result of the close proximity of her home burning down and the death of an elderly neighbor, she now only lived six houses down from me.

"Thanks, Jamie," she said as she climbed into the passenger seat. "I thought I was going to have to walk home in this."

"Anytime," I replied, twisting the key in the ignition. The old car sputtered on the first try, but came to life on the second attempt with a too-loud roar caused by a hole in the muffler.

We sat in silence for a while. Pippa spent a while alternating between checking her phone and messing with the radio. Eventually, she spoke up. "So I saw your picture today."

"Which one?"

"The new one. The one on black paper. I saw it when I went with Lydia to grab her colored pencils that she left in there," she fiddled with her phone a little bit more, but still continued. "Is it Jack Frost again?"

I didn't answer. I knew that she had written the Guardians off like the others had, but she still humored me.

"It is, isn't it?"

I nodded, reaching for the car radio and messing with the tuning dial.

"Do you still-"

"Yes."

She scrunched her face up into a scowl. "You don't even know what I was going to ask."

"You were going to ask if I still believe in them," I stated, turning off the radio completely. "And the answer is always going to be the same."

She sighed softly, looking away from me. She thought that my faith in them was crazy and immature, but still tried to step around my feelings.

"Sorry, Pippa," I replied, pulled my mouth to one side, "I just don't know how you could possibly have stopped believing in them too. I mean, you got grounded for sneaking out after dark and everything."

I knew she wanted to tell me that we were probably just playing make believe like we had so many times, but she said nothing.

The rest of the drive went by in silence. When we got to her house, she said nothing more than "thank you" and went inside. Most days, she'd invite me inside to watch cartoons on Netflix, but she didn't today. I suppose I had been something of a jerk. Accepting it, I backed out of her driveway and parked down the street in my own.

* * *

I finished my homework rather early, only having to work out a few geometry problems. Like every other day, I chose to see what my sister was up to. Ignoring her giggling, I entered her room without knocking in hopes of maybe catching one of the Guardians in the act, but instead found her watching the small television in her room.

Tucking away my hopes, I asked Sophie, who was now in the 5th grade, if she wanted to go play in the leaves.

"But it's raining," she complained. "Can we play Monopoly?"

"But that takes hours," I complained before rolling my eyes and reaching to grab the box from her shelf.

And for hours, we played. She was surprisingly crafty for her age and managed to build hotels on about of third of the board before finally wiping me out. Truthfully, it was times like this that made me ashamed of how jealous I was of her. She was the one of very few children at her school that still believed in the Guardians.

After cleaning up our game, we watched an old VHS recording of Bambi. She giggled whenever Thumper came on screen, commenting on how little he was. About halfway through the movie, the front door opened and closed, closely followed by the animated chatter that could only be caused by the arrival of a new guest.

"Lissy's here!" squealed Sophie, instantly jumping up and running down the stairs. After stopping the movie and putting it back in it's old plastic case, I went downstairs to greet our guests.

"Is that _Jamie_?" asked Leanne Willow, Lissette's mother. "I only saw you last week! It's crazy how much you still grow. What grade are you in now?"

"Hello, Mrs. Willow," I greeted. This whole growth routine of hers was starting to get old, but I went with it anyways. "I'm a senior now."

"A senior? Will you be the only seventeen year old graduate?" Having a February birthday, I managed to start school a little earlier than most. I was currently only sixteen. "It must be exciting to be considered an adult so early."

"Of course."

Exciting? Really?

"Do you have to go through this routine every time you see him?" asked a bold male voice from the kitchen.

"Hello, Mr. Willow."

"Hey there, Jamie," he greeted, leaning out from around the wall. "Don't worry about that old bat. All women get like that when they're old. You'll have one to push you around when you're older too."

"Oh, you're _so_ abused," smirked his wife. "Why don't you two get on out of here? Or are you going to make everyone wait on you again?"

"We're on our way out now," he stated, leaving the kitchen and giving his wife a quick kiss before heading out the door with my step-dad following closely behind.

"Jamie, can you do me a favor?" asked my mom. "We need to to watch over the girls for us, alright?"

I nodded, jogging upstairs to join Sophie and Lisette. I barely got into the room before Sophie started complaining to me.

"Jamie!" she whined, "Why did you take the movie out?"

"I thought we were done watching it," I said with a shrug.

She only sighed, moving on instead of dwelling. "Do you still want to go outside?"

"Is it done raining?" I asked, looking out the window. Sure enough, it has stopped.

The two beat me down the stairs. It was surprising how fast two little girls could be. I had to run to catch up with them. They chose to play at the small playground near our home, instantly occupying the swings. I sat with them, but the ground was too close to be able to swing properly. I remember how I used to need help getting on and off the swing. I had once broken my right pinky when one of my friends told me to just jump off. I suppose that I really was growing up.

The two tired of the swings about about ten minutes and moved onto the merry-go-round. I watched from the swings as they both took turns pushing each before Sophie began yelling for me to push her around on it.

"I'll push you around on it, but you can't jump around while it's moving," I instructed. "The rain made it slippery and you'll get hurt, okay?"

"No jumping. Got it!" She exclaimed with a salute. "Go super fast, okay?"

"Alright. Now hold on."

Once the two girls we sitting safely, I took ahold of one of the bars and began running in circles. It was easier to do when she was little, but I had grown too so it wasn't a hard task at all. It did make me a little dizzy though. I was looking straight ahead to make sure I didn't manage to trip, but when I turned my head to see what the two were giggling to intensely about, I noticed that they were both standing.

Letting go of the bar so that I wasn't pulling it faster, I tried shouting over their intense laughter. "What did I just tell you two? Now please, sit down!"

"C'mon, Jamie!" pouted Sophie, her golden hair whipping to the side as the merry-go-round continued to spin. "We're holding onto the bars. And besides, you said no _jumping_, not no standing."

"Sophie, please sit," I pleaded, knowing that she was a stubborn girl and wouldn't listen to me.

She began mocking me jokingly, sticking her tongue out at me as she began to jump up and down.

"Sophie, please-"

Before I could finish my sentence, I watch one of her boots slip on a wet spot of the merry-go-round. She yelped as she fell forward, hitting the metal with a horrifying gong-like ring.

"Sophie!" I shouted, grabbing at a bar to slow it down. I ran with it a couple of times around before I got it to stop. "Are you okay?"

She looked up from her she was, tears staining her already rosy cheeks red. "Sorry."

"It's okay, Sophie. Just please listen when I tell you to be careful, okay?" I asked, taking my spot next to her and pulling her up to her knees as I put an arm around her to pull her into a hug. She nodded, but I knew from experience that she would forget this conversation the next time that something dangerous looks like fun.

"She's bleeding!" cried Lisette, who was starting to cry too.

And sure enough, a thin stream of blood was leaking from her mouth.

"Can you spit into the mulch and open wide for me?"

She complied, spitting blood onto the wooden chips before open her mouth. There was a noticeable gap in her upper row of teeth on the right side. Looking around, I spotted the tooth and picked it up to show her.

"Looks like you've lost another tooth. How many baby teeth do you have left now?"

She sniffled, accepting the tooth, before answering. "Two."

"Well, you better put that under your pillow tonight so that the Tooth Fairy can find it, alright?"

"But she isn't real," stated Lisette.

"She is too, Lissy," argued my sister. "I've seen her with my own eyes!"

"_Sure_ you did, Soph," she said with a sarcastic eye roll that was pretty irritating. I never really did like any of Sophie's friends. They tended to be such rude drama queens. "Next you'll tell me that the Easter Bunny is real too."

"But he is!" she shouted, becoming visibly upset.

From behind Sophie's back, I motioned to Lisette to cut it out. With a shrug, she went quiet.

We went back home at a steady pace, Sophie holding her tooth up in the now setting sun while Lisette kept her head down in an awkward silence.

"Sophie lost another tooth," I announced as I entered the house, the two girls trailing behind me.

"That's great, dear," responded mom, turning from her glass of wine. "Does she still believe in that Tooth Fairy?"

Sophie merely scowled at her before running upstairs. Lisette hung up her coat and followed behind her.

Mrs. Willow chose now to speak up. "Isn't she ten now? She's a little old to be believing in things like the Tooth Fairy."

"She believes in Santa and the Easter Bunny too," said mom as she took another sip from her wine glass. "So does Jamie here."

She turned her attention to me. "Really, boy? You're about to graduate and you're still letting yourself get caught up in these childish fantasies?"

"I've tried to talk to him about it, but he gets really sensitive about it," shrugged my mother. "I guess I'll just have to be patient and wait for him to outgrow it."

And why shouldn't I be sensitive about it? Who wouldn't be sensitive if something that they knew as fact was used against him because most people thought it was just a fantasy? I sighed, taking the opportunity to go upstairs.

* * *

I sat in my room, thinking about what the night had in store. I mean, Tooth would be here. In my house! If I was careful, I might be able to see her again. I spent the next few hours rolling over what I would say to her if I got the chance. Eventually, I heard smaller footsteps pass my door as the guest room door opened and closed. Lisette was going to sleep, which meant that soon, my sister would as well. Looking out the window, I watched as two soft, golden ribbons neared the house. The first one to reach the house went into the guest room window as sleep claimed Lisette.

It was then that another plan came into my mind. This would be the first time Sophie lost a tooth since I had moved rooms. Since my mom remarried, she let me move into my dad's old study, saying that I could use a desk to study on. Since Sophie's room was too small to fit a bigger bed, her friends would sleep in my old room, which was since deemed the guest room.

As sand reached my sister, I jumped up and made my way down the hall and int her room. She was sleeping deeply already. I double-checked to make sure that her tooth was under her pillow before I sat down in a dark corner near the window, covering myself with one of her old quilts.

For a while, I got worried. I thought that maybe Tooth had seen me and skipped over the house. After a while my legs cramped up. My position become almost unbearably uncomfortable, but I dared not to move in fear that I would give myself away if she happened to come in at the right time.

I almost drifted off too, until the creaking of her window and a gust of cool autumn air snapped me away. I slowly peeked from underneath the blanket, afraid that if I moved too fast I would be spotted. Sure enough, a tall feminine figure hovered gracefully over my sisters sleeping form with her back turned on me. I knew that as much as she would want to admire the peaceful sleep of children, that she would have to move on soon. I had to act fast. I took a deep breath and counted down.

1...

2...

3!

I jumped from under the blanket, drawing a yelp from the startled fairy as I closed the window, locking it.

I turned around and locked eyes with her, staring at her in silence for a good ten seconds. In front of me was proof that what I had help onto the past four years was not just a childhood delusion. Even in the dark, all of vibrant colors shone in the moonlight.

Her bell-like voice broke the silence. "Oh, no..."

I took a silent step towards her.

"You shouldn't have seen me, Jamie. How did you..." she sighed, nervously, "There's someone else sleeping in your room right now, isn't there?"

I nodded, taking another step towards her.

"Jamie, you really should need us anymore."

"You know, Tooth," I said, taking another step, "I've spent the past four years wondering what I could have possibly done to make you guys all hate me so much. Can you just answer that question?"

"Jamie..." she scratched the bad of her head nervously, "I really shouldn't be talking to you. You're all grown up now."

"Please," I begged, reaching out and taking hold of her tiny hand. As hard as I tried, I failed to hold back the tears that wanted to spring out. "Have you been watching me still? Have you _seen_what a mess I've been? Have you?"

She slipped one of her hands free, brushing away some of the tears that had escaped and fell freely down my cheeks. "You were growing up, Jamie. We're Guardians of _childhood_."

"Growing up?" I raised my voice in frustration.

"Ow, Jamie," she complained. "Loosen up on my hand, okay?"

"I was only twelve years old, Tooth! In what world is that not a child?" I cried, tears flowing even faster now.

"I'm sorry, Jamie," she began, moisture beginning to build up in her eyes. "We didn't want to leave you. I promise. Please, Jamie. You need to let me go."

I fell quiet again.

"Jamie... I have other children to visit tonight."

"But if you go now, you'll never come back."

She was silent for a few moments. "If I promise..." she paused to taking in a deep breath, "If I promise to come back for you once, will you let me go?"

He promise shocked me. The years of trying so hard to meet with any of them had actually come to fruition. For the first time in a while, I would be able to see one of those that I had missed so much.

"Do you promise?"

She rolled her eyes defeatedly. "Yes, I promise to visit you."

I took this opportunity to wrap her in a hug, which she returned.

"Only once though, okay?" she stated, pressing her fingers to her forehead. "I'm going to be in so much trouble for this, Jamie." She let out a small laugh with a smile.

"When will you be back?" I asked, taking her hand again.

"Well I can get the other fairies to cover for me for one night so... tomorrow night?"

"It's a deal!" I said, giving her a kiss of the cheek.

She accepted it with a soft smile, slipping her hands from mine. "You're lucky that us Guardians have to keep out promises. Now I have to go, alright?"

I nodded, moving to unlock the window. She waved goodbye before drifting out the window.

"Thank you, Tooth!" I called after her.

I stood there in the window watching after her, making sure that I set this night in stone. I would never let myself forget her promise. After a while, I turned around and found two small eyes watching me.

"Why are you in my room, Jamie?" asked Sophie, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Who were you talking to?"

This time, I was the one giggling. I hurried to her side, sitting on the foot of her bed. "The Tooth Fairy was here!" I spoke excitedly, taking her into a tight hug.

"Really? You talked to her?" She rolled to check under her pillow, and sure enough a gleaming gold coin sparkled back at her. "A gold dollar? Wow!" She happily dropped it into a special piggy bank she had by her bed meant specifically for everything that Tooth gave her. She never opened it to spend any or put money from any other source in it.

"Sophie, can you make me a promise?"

She looked at me with still-sparkling eyes. "Yes?"

"Never grow up."

* * *

**Aaahh! I was going to end that sooner, but I figured leaving the first chapter off at a depressing note would make people want to stop reading. I'm sorry for any grammar mistakes or if it seems rushed. I'll go over it again, but having someone with enough free time to read things over would certainly help... *HINT HINT***

**Anyways, now you get to decide if this story goes further. Is anyone interested in reading on? If you have a suggestion that isn't exactly a review or you're nervous about reviewing, just PM me. It's T for now, but it may get a bit more adult in the future. I won't write any lemons though, so it won't be too risque. Please let me know what you think though. I'm new to writing, so all feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!**


	2. If We Ever Meet Again

**This update was delayed slightly by work and screwing around on Tumblr. Sorry! There's a Jackie Tumblr called fuckyeahjackjamie on there that I really like. If you want mine, I'm under the same name that I am here. If people want to start talking to me, I may just create a Twitter. But for right now, I'm sticking with Tumblr. I mainly reblog stuff, so I'm actually pretty boring.**

**Anyways, I want to thank everyone who has this story on alert, in their favorites, and/or left a review. I'm a first time writer and this story has received a lot more attention than I ever thought it would. Thank you so much! Now without further delay, let move on to chapter two. If you can get through this, I promise that the blunt of the frowny faces is ending soon. Bear with me for a bit if you want the fluff!**

* * *

CHAPTER 2: IF WE EVER MEET AGAIN

I thanked Sandy for allowing me to get to sleep quickly. Realistically, I should have been up all night due to the excitement, destroying my energy supply for the next day. I knew that I could trust Tooth to keep her promise, but if I fell asleep she wouldn't hesitate for a moment to leave again.

The next day was probably the slowest day in my entire history of going to school. The entire day, my distracted mind was the cause of numerous incidents. In chemistry, I dropped a hot beaker on the table, shattering it and forcing everyone out of the lab, just in case. It wasn't even that volatile of a chemical unless you stuck your fingers in it.

In my art four class, we started had to divide into four different groups, one for each season. We were told to discuss for the first ten minutes and then start our projects. The spring group chose to paint flowers, the summer group chose landscapes, and the autumn group went with a harvest theme. As I'm sure you already know, I signed up for winter. The group liked my suggestion to paint a model to portray the season, so they discussed the possibilities when it came to hair and makeup while I began sketching.

No bonus points for guessing who I chose to represent the season. I had the sketch laid out and had barely begun to paint before the bell rang. Miss Felton gave me a knowing look before coming over to check out my painting. She nodded and told me that I could store it in her office to keep it safe if I wanted to.

She knew. She may not know who the boy in my paintings was, but she knew he was important to me. She most likely knew what I was painting before even checking up on me. We shared a strange kind of bond. Still was still a disciplinarian when she had to be, but we had something of a friendship.

At lunch, I sat with Pippa. She wasn't very well liked by the other students, which was strange considering how kind and pretty she was. High school hierarchies made no sense to me. The ones who were unpopular were usually the kindest, while the arrogant jerks were considered popular. I really had no interest in it and mainly tried to avoid confrontation.

"My friend Sarah is in your art class, you know," she said before taking a bite of her chicken patty. I personally didn't really like them, but I had learned from experience that skipping lunch would make me crash harder at night so I ate one anyways.

"Is she the quiet one with the nose ring?" I asked, poking at my peas with a fork, stabbing one pea onto each individual prong.

"She usually paints cats, if that helps," she added with a shrug.

"Yeah, same girl."

"She told me about the latest project, Jamie," she paused to take a sip of milk, "Is it safe to assume that you chose winter?"

I nodded silently. I probably would have commented, but talking with a mouthful of over-processed chicken is rarely an attractive move.

She stayed quiet for a few drawn out moments, likely think over what to say, before she spoke up. "Well, at least it'll look amazing in the end. God knows your a master as that subject by now."

"Thanks." I'll take what I can get.

"Anyways, tonight at ten there's going to be a movie party at Sarah's house. She said that I could invite you too."

Pippa always seemed to be busy with something whenever I tried to hangout with her, so she chooses tonight of all nights to break that habit? Lovely.

"Pippa, I... Tonight isn't really-"

"Forget I asked," she interrupted, obviously annoyed. Wow. I suck.

"I'm really sorry, I just-"

This time, it was the bell that interrupted me. She quickly stuffed the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth before getting up to go to class in silence. I honestly didn't blame her for being mad at me, but I couldn't let tonight's opportunity pass me by.

The next couple of classes went by as a sort of drawn out haze. I spent the time jumping back and forth between thinking of what to ask tonight and wondering if Pippa still considered me a friend. In all honesty, I was a terrible friend. I never called anymore and only spent time with her at lunch or when I dropped her off.

* * *

"Do you promise not to be late anymore?"

"I promise, Miss Felton."

"Alright," she sighed, reclining in the nice black chair behind her desk. "Sorry about this. I just don't want people thinking I play favorites. You can work on your painting if you want. Detention ends at four. Can I trust you to stay?"

"You can," I nodded.

"Alright," she replied, getting up to unlock her office. "Just turn the light off and close the door when you leave."

"I will. Thank you." She really was my favorite of all teachers.

"Stay out of trouble or I'll make you scrape paint off the floor next time. See you next Monday," she waved at me, locking the open door so that nobody could go in once I left. "Enjoy your three day weekend."

"You too," I shot back. I had completely forgotten about that until just now. I probably would have been the only idiot to show up.

I spent my time working on my painting. I managed to get the skin and most of the face finished. The background was easy as well. The only parts that ever really took a long time were skin hair and his eyes. I always took a long time painting each individual strand. Beautiful snow white hair like his only came by once in a childhood, so I chose to spend as much time as needed to try and capture it as perfectly as possible.

I had yet to master Jack's eyes though. Mixing such a mesmerizing hue was always a struggle, and even then his eyes always lacked that sparkle that I had only ever seen in the eyes of the Guardians. Perhaps it was wisdom? Maybe it was pure wonder. All I knew is that even with the aid of various types of glitter, I had yet to get it right.

I spent some extra time working on it until by average standards, I was done. Nothing was unpainted. I was proud of my work, but the eyes still bothered me as always. They were lacking. They were so much like Jack's icy blue eyes, but at the same time they were nothing alike.

"Young man?"

I looked away from the canvas to see our school custodian watching me. "Yes?"

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave so I can clean in here."

I instantly looked at the clock, which read sightly after six thirty.

"Shit!"

"Language," he warned.

"Sorry, sir." I quickly piled up my paints, storing them in Miss Felton's office next to my painting.

I ran out to my car, rushing to get home. The sun was already almost down. Tooth could show up at any moment.

* * *

Once home, I ran straight for my room. I yanked the door open, finding Tooth rolling around on my bed, toying with a plush doll of her that usually rested on a small shelf above my desk with the rest of the plush Guardians. I stared from the doorway, awestruck to see someone who had been so evasive behaving so casually. It was like we had never separated in her eyes.

"You know, most people would find this kind of creepy," she observed jokingly, waving the doll in my direction.

"I paid a lot of money to have a local artist make those," I revealed. "I almost couldn't afford to have yours made."

"Well, that's pretty sweet I guess," she said with a smirk. "You got me in trouble, Jamie."

"I did?"

She nodded. "Sandy's in trouble as well."

"What?" I protested. "What did he do?"

"I understand you've been dreaming an awful lot about us?"

I nodded.

"Well he's really not supposed to send those kind of dreams. There's not really anything that they can do to stop him, but we both certainly received a stern talking to."

Without responding, I sat down next to her. She sat up, opening her mouth to say something, but I pulled her into the tightest hug I could without feeling like I might hurt her.

"You really came for me," I hiccuped, feeling sobs begin to bubble up from my throat.

"A Guardian always keeps her promise," she assured, returning my hug.

"Not always," I whispered, bringing a hand up from her back wipe away some of the tears that had begun to fall from my eyes.

She withdrew from the hug, laying her hands on my shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"I know that's not true. You all broke the most important promise you made to me." I began biting my bottom lip to hold back the sobs, not wanting to look like any more of a blubbering idiot than I already did. "You all promised that as long as I believed in you and still needed you, the you would be there for me."

"You and your friends stopped needing us, Jamie," she frowned. "We had no choice other than to move on."

"What do you mean? I didn't stop needing you, Tooth. I still need you," I cried, giving up the losing battle to keep my face dry. "I need you now more that ever."

"Oh, Jamie..." she sighed. "I wish there was another way, I really do. I'm just... My hands are tied on this."

It was then that it struck me. They left because my friends stopped believing. They just assumed that I was the same. They assumed that even after everything that I had seen and been through, that I had somehow written them all off as myth. Years ago, I would have felt sorry that they felt rejected by me. Years of feeling the sting of their rejection, however, had made me bitter.

"You abandoned a child when he still needed you. You didn't even try to explain. You left him alone to wonder what he had done to drive you away..." I trailed off, feeling something click inside me.

"Jamie, please-"

"You have no right to call yourself a Guardian," I snapped. She made eye contact out of shock, but quickly dropped from my glare.

"Jamie..."

"Your job is to protect children and all of the magic and wonder that lives within them. Am I right?"

"Please, st-"

"You're supposed to protect that spark that resides in every child, aren't you?"

"Jamie, we-"

"Yet you had no problem completely crushing all of that in me. You have _no_problem just leaving me-"

"_ENOUGH!_" she screeched.

I fell silent, taken off-guard. I had never once heard her raise her voice, and the shrill tone to it was actually pretty terrifying.

"Jamie, do you think it's _easy_to do what we do?" she choked, tears beginning to consume her as well. "Because it isn't! We have to try our absolute hardest to protect every single child in the world, knowing full well that they'll stop believing in us one day. Some days, I wish that I could just die and stop all of this. The only thing that keeps me going sometimes is knowing that if I disappear, I'll be letting down the other children across the globe who need me."

"Tooth..."

"No, Jamie. It's my turn to ramble now," she snapped back. "As a Guardian, we can _never_ get attached to a child. When we get attached, the pain when they stop believing in us destroys us."

"But I'll never stop believing," I argued. "I can't."

"You know, Jamie, many children have told me that," she sighed, "But in the end, they almost always forget sooner or later."

"But-"

She held a delicate finger to my lips, giving me a stern look that commanded me to let her finish.

"And the few who can keep that promise, the ones who we get close to..." she pursed her lips, closing her eyes, "They always die in the end."

I said nothing.

She took in a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. "So you see, Jamie... That's why we can't stay. We let ourselves get too close, and I don't think any of us can take watching another child we love grow old and die. We've all done that so many time, Jamie. I don't think any of us can take much more."

I ran my fingers through my hair, struggling to grasp everything that was being laid out before me. "Why could you have just told me this from the beginning?"

"Well.. You see, Jack-"

"Jack?"

"Yes, Jack. He-"

"Is he here too?" I jumped up, running towards the window.

"No, Jamie," she whimpered. "It's just me here. Sandy will be by soon, but I doubt that he'll be stopping in here."

"Tooth, I need to talk to Jack," I demanded. "I need to see him again."

She followed me to the window, wrapping me in another hug. "That's not up to me. Only Jack can choose to come back."

I turned around in her arms so that we were face to face. "Can you make me another promise?"

She scrunched her face, letting out a small moan. "Jamie, I'm already in enough trouble as it is..."

"Please, Tooth,' I begged. "Just this one thing. I'll never ask you for another favor in my life."

She put two fingers to her temple and closed her eyes before asking, "What is it?"

"I need you to talk to Jack for me. I need you to tell him how much I miss him. I need you to beg him to visit for me. I need-"

"I get it, Jamie. You want me to ask Jack to visit," she shifted slightly before continuing. "I really can't promise that he will come, but I'll talk to him, alright?"

I nodded in acceptance.

"Anything else?"

I rolled it over in my head, before thinking of one more thing. "I need to to come back in a week."

"You know very well that I can't do that."

"I just need you to pick something up," I pleaded.

"Jamie..." she protested.

"I promise not to be here. I won't even be in the house. I promise!"

She buried her face in her hands before letting out a muffled, "Fine."

"Thank you!" I exclaimed, wrapping her in another hug.

"What will it look like?" she questioned.

"It's a painting. I'll put it on my desk. You'll know it when you see it. I just need you to give it to Jack."

"You're really twisting my arm on this, you know it?"

"Sorry," I grinned, revealing the first genuine smile that had spread across my face in years.

"I see you've kept up on your flossing," she laughed. "Goodbye, little one."

"Goodbye," I said, wrapping her in one final hug. "If we ever meet again, I'll make up for everything I've said to you tonight. I promise."

"Goodnight."

And with only a few stroke of my hair, sleep claimed me.

* * *

I expected a dreamless night or perhaps some type of default dream to fill my sleep, but instead, I found myself high in the clouds, in the cold embrace of the boy I missed so much. It was then that a series of lights began to fire off in my mind.

A series of lights that made me question everything.

* * *

**"And... SCENE!"**

**Alright, so I've decided that if there is enough demand for a lemon, then when the time comes I'll write a few. If that happens, they will be published outside of this story. If you really want to read them, they will be available separately on my profile when the time comes. I want that sort of thing to be optional, as I know many people want fluff, not smut.**

**This update took a little bit longer thanks to Tumblr. Sorry about that. Either way, I updated as quickly as I could, just like I promised! I'm excited at how many people have already taken notice of this story. This has gone far beyond what I expected. Thank you so much for making someone like me feel wanted. I hope that none of you ever lose that magic and wonder of childhood. Promise me that you'll keep holding onto that okay? That spark is what keeps me going in life, so never let anyone take that from you.**

**Oh, and be sure to keep reading as well. I try to respond to all reviews, so be expecting a PM if you leave even the tiniest of reviews. Thank you!**


	3. The Tip Of The Iceberg

**I noticed a few more mistakes last chapter than I did the first. Part of it was because I updated at two in the morning after getting no sleep the night before and just wanted to get the update up before going to sleep. I should have read it over again. I'm sorry for being careless. If it happens again, I promise to find a beta. Also, I will in fact write a few lemons due to popular demand. They will be a part of a separate "story" so that you can choose if you want to read it or not. The lemons will always be reviewed by a beta first if I can help it.**

**And if any of you clicked chapter two soon enough and noticed ".B.R.E.A.K." in there, that's how I tell myself where to put page break. I used to put a bunch of dashes, but this site deletes those for some reason. I fixed it and I hope I didn't confuse anyone with that rubbish. Now enough of this crybaby Jamie. He's getting on my last nerve.**

* * *

CHAPTER 3: THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG

While I was sure I could finish the painting before Thursday, I wanted the oil paints to dry. Oil paints, unlike other media, is a stubborn material to work with. It takes its sweet time drying, no matter what one does. It was for this reason that I was the only one at school at eight o'clock this Friday morning. Miss Felton let me inside, warning me that if anyone else said anything that I'd have to leave.

I spent my time trying to figure out what the eyes were missing. I added little bits of swirled frost and even spent fifteen minutes sketching out my signature on the back before signing it. For a while, I came up empty handed. It took me over three hours to finally figure it out.

I thought back to the first time he said goodbye to me. He said just finished reciting the Oath of the Guardians. Before getting in the sleigh and leaving, he told me that even if he was far away, he would always be there in my heart. In that moment, I saw the spark in his eye.

I also remembered the first time I saw him. I remember how excited he was that someone could see him. That same spark resided in his blue eyes that time as well.

Yes, his face and eyes did shine brightly, but that spark was even brighter still. I had failed to capture it before because I could never get it to be bright enough. It always blended in with the whites of his eyes, never appearing as anything more than a shining light reflecting off of his eyes. That spark was not a reflection though. It lived within.

At first I considered sticking a little light through the back, but the thought of how destructively tacky that was made me laugh. I had another idea though. One that worked. I spent a few hours repainting his eyes and some of the surrounding areas. I made it all just a few shades darker. I even added some shine to his eyes. When I painted the stark white spark in, it stood out perfectly against the light grey color of whites of his eyes. after adding just a hint of gold, I was done.

I spent the weekend waiting for it to dry. It was still went on Monday, and it was then that the idea that it might now dry in time terrified me. It remained damp on Tuesday as well. It wasn't until Wednesday that I was convinced that it was dry. I made a special trip to get it professionally framed. While I could have probably done it myself, the risk of screwing it up hardly seemed worth it.

Before going to school Thursday, I wrapped it with snowflake gift paper that we had leftover from last Christmas, leaving a note so that nobody would peek before Jack could open it. When I got home, it was gone.

Just like that, my connection with the Guardians fell once again.

The rest of September was uneventful.

October passed by easily enough. Sophie went as Rapunzel for Halloween.

November was quiet as well, apart from the splash of Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

It wasn't until December that anything worthwhile happened. On December 4th, my car frosted over.

Two days later, on December 6th, small white pellets began to fall from the sky. On December 9th, snow finally fell in bulk. And finally, on December 12th, the small lake where Jack took his oath finally finished freezing completely over.

It was winter now. It was time to make snowmen, have snowball fights, and build igloos. It was finally time to drink hot cocoa and go ice skating. I was time for Jack to finally come back.

I could feel that he was near. It may have been a little bit crazy on my part. Maybe it was fueled by a bit of desperation. I could just feel a familiar presence in the town, and I knew who it had to be. It wasn't until December 19th that my suspicions were, in my mind, confirmed.

When frost naturally forms, it usually takes the shape of the surface it is on or, if it is on a vertical surface, branches off of drip-like veins. That night, however, I noticed the faded remains of elegantly swirled frost slowly melting on the top pane of my window. It was then that I began to formally search for him.

I spent the next week looking everywhere I could think of. I even checked throughout the town where I had taken that magical sled ride. It wasn't until New Year's Eve that I finally found something new.

* * *

After getting lost in the woods, I stumbled out into a small field of snow. It was completely white and featureless, apart from one thing. Somewhere towards the middle of this frozen sea, something dark and jagged protruded. I dragged my legs through the freezing snow, drenching my legs in the process. It was a fractured wooden plank that seemed to have suffered severely from the effects of the elements.

I began dig away at the snow and kept going long after my hands went numb. I uncovered two other pieces of wood, both of which were also wedged into the ground. I held my hands to my torso for a few minutes to warm them up in preparation to try and dig into the ground.

In the silence though, I heard something quite peculiar. It was a thumping of sort. A deep, foreboding thumping. It was so faint so one had to listen very carefully to even pick it up. I listened for a few minutes before putting one ear to the ground. I heard it louder now. Mixed in were a series of strange clicks, as well as a subtle hissing that resembled rushing steam.

I had to find out what the noise was. Despite the frigid weather, the soil was rather warm. When I shoved my fingers into the dirt, it came up easily enough. I began using my gloved hands as shovels, scraping away the dirt. I got about a foot deep before I was interrupted.

"Don't."

I looked around and saw nothing. The voice was familiar though. I ignored it and scooped up another handful.

"Stop digging."

Jack.

I looked around again. Still seeing nothing but white snow piled up around me, chose to keep digging. Even after these four years, I could easily pick Jack's voice out of a crowd. He really thought that if he told me not to do something from the shadows that I would obey at this point? If anything, it only drove me on. After all of these years of searching, I was finally onto something. I was about another half a foot down by this point.

"You need to stop digging. Please."

I lifted my face towards the grey winter sky and shouted, "Who's gonna make me?"

With that, i continued clawing at the soft earth as I expanded the hole. I didn't hear his voice again for about ten minutes. I got a little bit over two feet down before I felt a hand rest on my left shoulder. It startled me, but I fought the urge to turn around.

I heard shallow breathing draw near until it was right next to my ear. A chilled wisp of air ghost across the side of my face as three words were whispered into my ear.

"Stop digging, Jamie."

I wanted to turn around, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. If I turned around and found nothing, I would almost certainly go insane at this point. I slowly removed my gloves, dropping them in the dirt. As slowly as I could manage, I brought my right hand across my torso to rest on top of the cool hand underneath it.

My brain went into a complete overload at that point. Every single daydream that I had had of this moment rushed forward at once. I once daydreamed that he would rescue me from a blizzard. Another time, I daydreamed that I was ice skating alone and suddenly found his out on the lake with me. I once even daydreamed that he would stop me from spinning out in my car after I hit a patch of ice.

Not once did I ever place myself in the middle of some field digging a hole.

I tightened my grip on the hand, not sure if I should turn around or not.

"I'm not going to hide this time."

And I believed him. He had broken his promise to me before, but I had no choice at this point that to believe him.

Keeping a firm grasp of the hand, I slowly turned my head. Past the thin hand, I saw a bony wrist. Only a couple of inches up was the dark indigo fabric that still remained sharp in my memories.

"Jack?"

"You can't be here, Jamie."

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes before turning around. It took a lot of internal arguing to get myself to open them. Letting out my breath, I let my eyelids snap open. The first thing I noticed were the eyes. I was proud of the job I had done, but nothing could do the real thing justice. After four year, he was finally here.

The overpowering emotion was pure shock. This shock was the only thing that kept the intense joy bubbling up inside of heart heart from flooding over.

"You haven't changed a bit," I mumbled, willing the threat of tears in my eyes away. I was sick of crying.

"The same can't be said for you, Jamie," he replied, pulling free from my hand. "You're all grown up now."

"No, Jack," I argued. "I'm not."

He rested a hand on my cheek, using a thumb to swipe away the solo tear that threatened to fall. "It's okay, Jamie."

"Not, it's really not. I won't grow up if it means that I have to let go of this magical feeling that I have whenever I so much as think of you and your friends."

"That night that Tooth came back to visit you, she lied about something." He shifted slightly, watching me closely.

I could tell that he was going somewhere and willed myself into silence.

"The truth was that I was right there the entire time."

"But I checked the window."

He let out a small chuckle. "I hid underneath your bed."

"Under my bed?"

He nodded. "It was a lot lower than I thought it was and was pretty cramped. You could probably stand to clean up underneath it as well."

"You really hid in one of the most obvious places for someone to hide in a bedroom..."

"And it worked." This time, I got a smile. It faded quickly though. "I heard everything though. There was something that you said that really struck me."

I watched him intently, hoping for him to go on.

"You said that our jobs as Guardians was to protect those who needed us, and I realized that... I realized that maybe age has nothing to do with it."

"What are you saying, Jack?"

"I'm saying that maybe I would be a failure of a Guardian if I abandoned someone who needed me, twelve years old or even sixteen."

"Do you..." I began, losing my calm composure that I had been struggling to contain. I quickly hooked my arms underneath his, pulling him in for the hug that I has dreamt about for years. Even in this heatless embrace, I could feel something deep inside of me began to warm up. For the first time in a while, I was alive again.

He returned the hug, wrapping his thin arms around me. "I missed you."

I pulled out of the embrace, forcing him to make eye contact. "Jack, you have to promise me that you won't leave again. You have to promise that you won't leave me alone when I need you. I can promise to always believe in you. You just need-"

"Jamie," he interrupted, his usually mischievous gaze reflecting a stoic wisdom. "I promise."

"...Are you going to break your promise again?"

He gave me another smile, though this one wasn't quite as cheerful as the one before. "As long as you keep on believing in me, I'll keep on coming to see you."

"Thank you, Jack!" I breathed, squeezing my arms around his narrow frame to make sure that I had actually lost it.

"Can you make me a promise though?" He asked, pulling away slightly. "I need you to promise that you will stop neglecting the rest of your life. Pippa may not need a Guardian, but she does need a friend."

I nodded. "Whatever you say."

In a short moment, my entire conversation with Tooth flashed through my mind. I felt a stab of guilt deep inside, as well as hints of curiosity.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Something Tooth said," I sighed. "She said that getting attached to a child is dangerous since, in the end, they all die."

Jack ran a quick finger through his hair, brushing it out of his eyes, before commenting. "I have yet to experience that."

"But if you continue to be around me..." I trailed, realization finally dawning on me.

"Then someday, I'll feel that pain too." He took another breath as that sunk in. "But hopefully, if you keep believing, we can make it all worthwhile."

"You mean you'd be willing to go through that just to help me?" I gaped.

He nodded. "I was scared when I left, but I've truly missed you. I figured that I'll have plenty of time to miss you after..." The end was just a whisper as he looked down at the ground, tapping the snow on the ground with his foot until it was flat and smooth. "I can miss you after you're gone. For now, I don't have to miss you."

In what was perhaps one of the most selfish moves on the planet, I drew him into my arms for a third time. It's not that I didn't feel guilty. It's just that my lonely desperation overpowered my better judgement.

"It's about time we got you home."

I nodded, linking arms with the friend that I had long to see so much that I lost sleep over it. I had filled many notebooks with him, and now here was walking next to me.

"Will I ever see the others again?"

He shrugged, pausing for a few moments before responding. "That's really up to them."

I nodded, knowing he was right.

* * *

I wanted so desperately to talk all into the night, but found myself exhausted beyond belief. Noting the golden speckles that drifted in the air around me, I know exactly what was happening. I didn't fight it though. I wasn't afraid. For once in a long time, I was happy.

"Goodnight, Jack," I mumbled as he lowered me down like he used to years ago.

"Goodnight, Jamie."

And with a yawn, I managed to sigh, "Goodnight, Sandy."

* * *

That night, I slept better than I had in four years. I did dream, but just barely. The only image rolling through my mind was that of a bright red cherry. A cherry so red that it almost seemed to glow.

* * *

**Also if you haven't noticed yet, the titles of the chapters are song titles. I'm slowly leaking little bits of what I'm listening to as I write. The first one was "Never Grow Up" by Taylor Swift. It is one of her few songs not about a breakup and I love it. The second was "If We Ever Meet Again" by Timbaland feat Katy Perry. It's weird that Katy is listed as a feature because she sang most of the song except for the very beginning. Not the biggest Katy Perry fan, not gonna lie, but I like this song. This one is "The Tip Of The Iceberg" by Owl City. Owl City is good writing music because it sounds cool but the lyrics make no sense so it isn't as distracting.**

**And in response to those who are wondering (I've already received a could of PMs about it), the cherry does not represent _that._ Shame, shame! You'll find out soon enough, I promise. Some of you might already have an idea. If it has nothing to do with lemons, you may be right. Don't say anything if you're observant enough, alright? I'll be slower to update over Christmas, but I'm not going anywhere!**


	4. Out Alive

**Okay, who is A FAN? Stop posting anonymously, sunflower. I can't respond to you if you do that! To answer you question, when I finally get around to lemons, they will be available in a separate story on my profile. Each chapter will be a different lemon from the story. I'll let you know at the beginning of a chapter if there's going to be a lemon and find a way to mark it so you know where to switch pages if you want to read it. Please PM me though, A FAN. I can't always write to you from the author notes!**

**Sorry for the delay. Christmas and family crap always tends to slow me down. I'm so off schedule right now. Also, stop trying to guess how this is going to end! One of you got really close and it scared me. I won't say who to avoid spoiling anything, but you will know who you are. You guessed many of my planned points very accurately and it's kinda freaky. Don't guess anymore. And due to the fact that I skipped a scene that I deemed pointless and boring, I had to mix in some frowns. Bennefrost is in the near future, though. I promise. I know that I promised not to put anything sad in this so my credibility is kind of crappy right now, but you'll just have to read on and take my word for it! xD**

* * *

CHAPTER 4: OUT ALIVE

My eyes slowly pried open the next morning. I found myself with icy spikes coming off of my chin. I reached up to take hold of frozen beard in an attempt to remove it. It stuck at first, but eventually pulled off. I rubbed my chilled skin before searching around the room from the most probable cause.

"You awake yet?" I heard from the hallway. I listened and heard a shuffling noise.

"Mhm," I grumbled, really not wanting to get up yet. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, rubbing my eyes before standing up. "What are you getting into?"

"I was going to make you breakfast, but your mom is really bad about going grocery shopping."

"She always waits until we're out, orders pizza and Chinese for a couple of days, and then goes out," I commented, making my way out of my room and down the hall. "Thanks anyways."

"No problem, bro."

"Bro?" I questioned, reaching the kitchen to find him rummaging through the cabinets.

"Isn't that a thing right now?" He asked with a cocked eyebrow, looking away from the cabinet that was half filled with spices.

"I guess?" I laughed. "How about I make us some waffles?"

"Sounds good to me," he confirmed letting the cabinets close. "Need any help?"

This was all wrong. None of it made any sense. Maybe it was the sudden change of having my best friend back, but I was just confused. I couldn't quite word my reply, instead letting out a strangled mumble.

* * *

"Are you alright?" asked the winter spirit, even though he knew that Jamie was anything but okay.

"I just don't get it." Jamie dropped four waffles into the toaster, pulling both levers down. "This time yesterday, I thought that I'd never see you again. And now, I'm making you waffles like you never left."

Jack knew that his friend was trying hard to be joyful for him, but he had left so many loose ends that perhaps such emotions were unavoidable.

"Forget it." Jamie rolled his eyes, standing on his toes to get the syrup from the top shelf of a cabinet. "I haven't seen you in a while, so let's just make the most of however long you're staying."

"Jamie," smirked Jack, struggling to keep up his confident demeanor. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I promise."

"Well, don't hold it against me if I don't exactly believe your promises right now," parried the young human bitterly. "You don't really have a great track record."

The winter Guardian pursed his pale lips slightly, failing to hide how much that comment has stung. "I'll set the table."

"Jack, I'm sorry," apologized Jamie, setting down the glasses that were in his hands at the time.

"But I deserved it. I'm supposed to be there for you, and I let you down."

Jamie didn't know what to say. As much as he wanted to tell his immortal friend that it was okay and that he was wrong, he couldn't. Jack was tight. He had left him down for four years. No amount of sugarcoating would ever truly be able to hide the fact. He was simply at a loss for words, but perhaps his silence said enough.

"This can wait," Jamie mumbled. "Let's just have a fun day, alright?"

"Sure, sure. You know what we haven't done in a while?" asked Jack rhetorically. "Have a snowball fight!"

"Really, Jack? A snowball fight?"

"No?" question the winter spirit with a somewhat confuse gaze.

"Who's going to play with us?"

"Why don't we get that old gang back together for a good old-fashioned day in the snow?"

"Jack..." Jamie sighed. "There is no 'old gang' anymore."

"I'm sure they'd still want to come out and play if you asked. We can go try after breakfast, okay?"

"We can't. Claude and Caleb live in Arizona, Cupcake went off to college in Washington, and Monty..." He drew in a breath, not quite sure how to phrase such new to Guardian of Fun. "Monty wen't into a diabetic coma two years ago. He's been dead for a little bit over a year now."

Jack was silent. The idea of death didn't really fit into his idea of fun. He always thought that Monty was a bit rude, but to die at fourteen? "It's always a shame when children die."

"He wasn't a child anymore. He was fourteen, and twelve is apparently the cap." Jamie caught his sarcasm, quickly apologizing. "I'm doing it again. Dammit."

"It's fine," he cut off. "What about Pippa?"

"I... really don't talk to her much anymore."

"Why not try again now?"

Jamie let out a soft chuckle. He wasn't exactly thrilled with the awkwardness that would likely ensue, but arguing with the winter spirit was pointless. "If you say so."

* * *

I made my way up the icy sidewalk to Pippa's home. Once I reached the top of the steps leading up to her porch, I paused to look back at Jack He only waved me onward before I managed to bring myself to knock on the door. I heard a recliner slam close as well as some plastic clattering before the door swung open.

"Jamie?" Pippa greeted, smoothing her hair. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be hanging out with the Easter Bunny or something?"

"Nah, I bet he's-"

I was interrupted by Jack, who cleared his throat dramatically. "She's being sarcastic," he whispered.

I tried to play it off with a chuckle. "I, uh... no. No, I am not hanging out with the Easter Bunny." Awkward.

She rolled her eyes, obviously irritated. "Can I help you with anything? Doctor Who is on."

"Right," I took in a breath of cold air before moving on, "I was wondering if you would maybe want to go see a movie with us sometime?"

"Us?" she asked right a raised eyebrow. "Who else is going?"

Shit. I could tell by her suspicious gaze that she knew exactly what I meant.

"Well, I don't mean us as in..." I began trying to think up something to make a smooth recovery, but was stumbling.

I was choking. I had screwed up. This would probably be my last chance to smooth things over with my last remaining human friend, and I was blowing it.

And just when I though that all hope of lost, I heard a thump on the roof followed by a scraping sound. Before I had time to register what was happening, I found myself being buried in the thick snow that had accumulated on Pippa's roof. I felt a pair of capable hands catch me as the force sent me toppling back over the steps, gently setting me down.

"Jamie!" she called out, trying hard to suppress her laughter. "Are you alright?"

"I'll live," I sighed, shooting a glare at Jack who shot me a wink from his spot up on the roof.

"Maybe you should come inside," she offered, helping me up out of the snow. "You'll catch a cold if you try to go anywhere like this."

* * *

Watching Jamie go inside, I figured that now would be a good time to check up on another one of my favorite believers.

Now I know that I'm not _supposed_ to play favorites, but sometimes it just can't be helped. Right now, I had an urge to visit a cute little blonde who had caused much trouble for Jamie throughout her life.

I leapt out on a rush of wind, taking myself to Jamie's old window. Jamie had long ago broken the window lock so that even if someone else were to lock it, I would still be able to get in. As far as I knew, nobody had ever noticed. It had been my way inside many night, just as it was now. I quickly went to Sophie's room, finding it empty. I searched the entire house, finding no sign of anyone.

It wasn't until I searched the kitchen that I found a note.

* * *

_Driving Sophie to her dance class. Just ordering subs for dinner._

* * *

"Sophie dances?" I thought out loud.

"She's pretty good at it too."

I jumped at first, thinking that I was alone. Even in a room full of people, I was usually able to think out loud without fear of anybody hearing. It had become something of a habit over time. One that I needed to break before it got me into trouble.

"She lost a tooth a couple of months ago after slipping in her dancing shoes," stated the all too familiar voice of the Tooth Fairy. "It's a miracle that that poor girl hasn't broken her nose yet with how much she face-plants."

I let out a short chuckle, turning around to face the unexpected visitor. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to check up on how things were going with you is all," she said with a shrug. "You didn't stop by last night to let us know how things went and I got a little worried."

"I'm fine. Thanks for worrying about me though."

"Oh, anytime. If I ever stop checking in on your from time to time, my little fairies would grow restless," she explained, a dreamy look in her eye as she zoned into the distance. After a moment, she regained focus. "So are you going to tell him?"

"Tell him what?"

"Jack," she said sternly, resting her hand on her hips. "Don't play games with me. I've spent long enough viewing memories to know how this kind of thing works."

"What kind of thing?" I asked, think that just _maybe _she was one the wrong track.

She simply gave me a look that scream '_Really?_'

"You want some waffles?" I asked, opening the freezer. "Jamie showed me how to use a toaster this morning."

"Jack, stop," she commander, forcing the freezer shut. "I get if you don't want to tell him, but you have to at least acknowledge how you feel."

"There's nothing to feel, Tooth," I said, wishing that she'd drop it. But I knew better than that. She wouldn't stop until she got what she wanted. "He's a friend that I missed and I feel guilty for leaving him alone when he still needed me."

"And...?"

"And now I'm here to watch over him for as long as he'll let me."

"And he's your..."

I hated this game. She did this whenever she wanted to draw information from any of us. She would start an incriminating sentence and pester us until we finished it.

"First beli-"

"Cr..." she interrupted, her cheeks puffing up as her smile grew. "Cru..."

"Tooth, stop."

But she never listened to anyone else when she was onto something.

"Well, I know how you feel about him, Jack, and I won't let you just torture yourself. You'll thank me for pushing you someday."

"Fat chance." I adored her most of the time, but she could get rather hard to handle. She loved gossiping.

"You don't have to tell him, you know." He said, letting herself get a little bit more serious. "But if you bottle it up until it's too late, it'll tear you apart later. Trust me, Jack."

"I..." I sighed, giving in. As stubborn as she was, she was almost always right. "I do love him, Tooth. I just... I don't think I could handle being rejected by him, you know?"

She nodded. "Love is a hard emotion to handle. It'll be even harder to tell him."

"You said that I didn't-" I began, before being interrupted.

"I know, Jack, but you'll regret it if you don't," she sighed sadly, an emotion that rarely crossed the fairy's face. "Did I ever tell you about Daniel?"

I shook my head.

She took a seat on the couch, patting the cushion next to her. Sensing that I was in for a story, I joined her. She took in a deep breath before she spoke.

"You see, back in the early twentieth century, there was a believer by the name of Daniel. His family was successful, putting him in one of the nicer homes in New York City at the time. He may not have been my first believer, but we did share a special bond. He was special, and I promised myself that I'd never let him come to harm. His belief in my was strong and I often visited him, even if he hadn't lost any teeth. He stuck to a strict routine of brushing and flossing, never straying no matter what was going on.

"Even after I had collected his last baby tooth, I felt a pull to keep visiting him. With his wealthy status, he was a constant target at school. Somedays, he'd come home in tears with dirt on his clothes and scrapes on his skin. It broke my heart to see, but all I could do was continue to visit him and tell him that it would be alright. Eventually, we grew stronger and began to fight back. By the time he entered high school, he was a proud athlete.

"But still, he was an outcast for his firm belief in the Tooth Fairy. I told him just to lie, that as long as his belief didn't waver what he said didn't matter, but he refused. He stood firm in his belief all the way through graduation. He was the first one to show me that kind of respect. He would never allow himself to say that I was a lie when he knew I was real. His sense of justice and truth was something that I loved about him. Even with his luxurious upbringing, he became a kind-hearted man who loved helping people.

"Tot his day, I don't know when things changed. I just know that at some point, I fell for him. I believed him when he said that his faith would live forever. I never told him though. I never wanted to take away what potential his life had. He could have a human wife that she could take places and actually have others see her. He could have children and do all sorts of wonderful things with his life as long as we remained just friend. It was hard sometimes, but I kept strong by telling myself that it was for his sake.'

"Then one night after a long night of collecting teeth, I came to make sure that he was sleeping well. I came in through his bedroom window and found his bed empty, his room a complete mess. He was always good about keeping clean, so I started to worry. I found that rest up his home ransacked. Glass was broken and many items weren't where they were supposed to be. It wasn't until I checked his office that I found him."

As her eyes began to mist up, she closed them in an attempt to avoid letting her tears loose. I took her hand before telling her, "It's alright, Tooth. You don't have to finish the story if it's too painful."

"But I do, Jack," she sobbed. "You need to know my story so that you don't repeat my mistake."

My only response was to squeeze her hand a little tighter. I could already see where this was going, but finishing this story was important to her.

"When I found him, he was barely alive. He had been shot six times. He told me that it was a robbery and not to feel guilt about any of it, but I couldn't help it. Even in his last moment, he was looking out for me. He knew me well enough to know that I was tearing myself apart with the fact that I hadn't been there sooner. I may not have been able to fend off his attackers, but I could have tried to help bandage him up or something. I was his guardian, and I had failed.

"And just like that, he was gone." She stared at the floor blankly as she finished her story. "You see, Jack, I never told him that I loved him. I have to live with that fact every single day of my life. We could have been great together, but I kept my love a secret for too long. Jamie might only be sixteen, but we aren't promised a lifetime."

I pulled her into a hug, not knowing what I could possibly say at this point. She let out a ragged sigh as she weakly hugged back.

"I can't force you to do anything, but it'll be better for you if you just tell him how you feel," she stated. "Wondering '_what it?_' is something that I'm half sure will never go away."

I nodded, knowing that she was right. She always was, wasn't she? "I'm really not sure how, but I'll tell him."

She smiled, wiping away the last of her tears. "I've gone and ruined your happy day. Today was supposed to be fun, and I came by and dragged you down with my sad story."

"But you helped me," I stated, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you."

She let a grin spread across her face, happy that she was successful.

I wasn't sure how, but I knew that I couldn't hide things from Jamie for much longer. Tooth was right. I had to tell him that I loved him.

It had been confusing at first. I always assumed that we were just meant to be best friends. It wasn't until the growth spurts started that I began to realize what was happening. I was falling for someone that I didn't have a chance of growing old with. It terrified me, so I did what any coward would do.

I ran.

"Hey, Jack?" chimed Toothiana, pulling me back into focus.

"Hm?" I shook my head, clearing my thoughts.

"Just remember that all you can do is choose how to spend the time you have. You can take your time, but remember that humans never make it out alive.

It was a depressing thought, but I wasn't worried about it right now. Jamie was young. We had decades ahead of us. There was still so much time that we could spend together. Even if I had wasted four year, we still had most of a lifetime to make up for it.

"Enough of this sad stuff though," she coughed, flitting back into the kitchen. "How about we try making some of those waffles?"

* * *

**I wanted this to be much more carefree, but I cut an entire scene after I realized how boring it really was. I basically had Jack walking around the town while Jamie and Pippa watched television. He didn't really accomplish anything aside form a couple of small pranks. It was nothing worth forcing you to read, so I just made a little change and moved on. On the bright side, the faster the story move, the faster we can get to the fluff! **

**I'm not sure you guys know just how much I like it when people write to me. I love it so much. I've never really had anybody want to talk to me throughout my life, so now that a few people are starting to PM me I'm super stoked. If you aren't messaging me, please do! As far as I know, I'm pretty likable. If you want to know more about me, ask away and I might just post it on my profile. Be sure to review though! The extra time you take to write a quick note will keep updates coming fast as I'll stay inspired. Sometimes I'm just screwing around on Tumblr and my phone vibrates with a new review and I decide that I should probably be writing instead. And I respond to all SIGNED reviews!**


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